MAYWEATHER, MCGREGOR HAVE FINAL FACEOFF BEFORE FIGHT
Saturday’s battle of styles pits power against elusiveness.
Floyd Mayweather LAS VEGAS — Jr. says it was the first punch of the fight. His promoter thinks it came during the second round.
One shot to the head, and suddenly Manny Pacquiao decided his night might better be spent fighting on the outside.
“I let him know it’s not what you think it is,” Mayweather said. “You’re not just going to run in there. He felt a strength he didn’t expect.”
The knock on Mayweather — and the reason some people give UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor a chance Saturday night — is that he doesn’t score knockouts. Pacquiao never went down either, but Mayweather showed there are other ways to change a fight than putting a fighter on the canvas.
McGregor, the mixed martial arts star, may find that out early if he goes after Mayweather at the opening bell as expected. The prevailing theory is that McGregor wins the power battle, but there’s more than one fighter with power in this, the most unusual of fights.
“When he gets hit he’s going to find out it’s totally different,” Mayweather said. “The brittle hands, they keep saying that, but when I come across his head he’ll find out that it’s totally different.”
McGregor doesn’t believe that, of course and predicted again Wednesday that the fight would end early with Mayweather on his back.
“I believe one or two rounds, with 8-ounce gloves I don’t see him surviving,” McGregor said. “I’m starting to think I’ll toy with him once he goes down.”
The two fighters got together for the final pre-fight press conference Wednesday to further hype a fight built on hype. In contrast to the bombastic tone of earlier appearances it was a relatively subdued affair at the MGM Grand.
They posed together and didn’t come close to exchanging blows. They did both manage to get in a few final words, though.
“It’s not going to be easy, Conor,” Mayweather told his opponent. “I’ve got a great chin but remember this: The same way you give it you gotta be able to take it.”
Though ticket sales have been tepid — largely because of astronomical prices — the pay-per-view is expected to be watched by some 50 million people in the United States alone and millions more worldwide.
It’s half-fight, half-spectacle, a bout that matches a UFC star who has never boxed against a masterful ring technician with a record of 49-0. Born of internet hype, it has captured the curiosity of even those outside both sports and could end up being the richest fight ever.
And it’s a bout Mayweather says he is taking very seriously, despite training at odd hours and holding meet-and-greets every night before the fight with fans who come to his strip club.